Carelle Mowatt, whose debut record reached the top of the iTunes country music chart in 2012, woke up on March 24 with a huge blister on her leg, one which she initially believed was caused by ringworm.

However, the 24-year-old foolishly, she now admits, tried to self-diagnose the bite for fear of going a doctor and opted instead to take some antihistamines.

But after telling herself repeatedly "it’s only a blister", Ms Mowatt watched it get bigger and bigger before it eventually burst in grotesque fashion at her boyfriend’s mum’s house.

“The next day, I plucked up the courage to see a doctor, who told me it looked like a spider bite and was infected,” she said.

“I started a course of antibiotics and had it bandaged every day.

"The pain was absolutely unbelievable.

"I became nervous about anyone going near my leg. I wasn’t sleeping as I associated my bed with the bite.”

A fortnight later, Ms Mowatt suffered a "terrible turn" and was rushed to A&E.

She was signed off work and prescribed a fresh cocktail of strong antibiotics and morphine while being left bedridden, none the wiser about what had happened.

“We put my pain down to a bad allergic reaction to a regular house spider bite,” said Ms Mowatt.

Nearly a month later, however, the severity of her condition became clear.

“I had an actual hole in the side of my leg,” she said.

“The bite had become necrotic. This is when your body can’t recover from a trauma, when there is inadequate blood supply and the cells have totally died.”

Ms Mowatt explained that her dermatologist had to scrape the dead tissue away with a scalpel to allow the fresh tissue to form.

“The pain was unbearable,” she said.

“I had five people pinning me down. Unfortunately, the necrotic tissue was firmly glued to my leg. I was facing surgery.”

However, a plastic surgeon, specialising in spider bites, said while it was usually good practice to remove the necrosis, he felt Ms Mowatt’s wound was healing and that surgery would leave scarring and risk further infection.

“I walked out the hospital with mixed feelings,” she said. “I had psyched myself up for the operation.

“The finishing line was so close and it felt like it was taken away from me.

“A week later, the surgeon contacted me to say I should start letting air get to the bite and start showering too.

"This felt like Christmas – an actual shower!”

But despite seemingly being on the road to recovery, Ms Mowatt suffered another setback.

Her plastic surgeon told her he had good news and bad news: the good news being there was no infection; the bad news being he had to remove all the dead tissue.

“The pain was crazy,” she said. “Then, my superhero alter ego kicked in. ‘Take it off now!’ I said. All I recall is the intense pain. But the necrosis was gone.”

She was later told such was the ferocity of her necrosis, it was likely the result of a bite by a venomous spider.

Aspiring singer Ms Mowatt has slowly eased herself back into work, but said she still suffers from sleep issues and night terrors.

“If you see an alien blister appear, please do to the doctors or A&E,” she said. “Don’t leave it like I did.

“My blog has been an amazing outlet. I’ve had some really frustrating and sad days and creating this has really kept me going.”